


A Manifestation of the Soul

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Series: Smoke and Mirrors [3]
Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000
Genre: Gen, Mirror everyone pretty much, Mirror!Crow t robot, Mirrorverse, What am I doing, mirror!Mike Nelson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 11:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12232206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Tom finds himself once again stuck in an alternate universe. In this one, Mike is still the test subject, and has been so for twenty years.





	A Manifestation of the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> My god. What have i done. This is becoming so convoluted.   
> Part of the Smoke and Mirrors universe.

Servo knew this feeling. He had experienced it before, the sensation of suddenly being in a different universe. The damn Mads had sent up the matter transference machine again, and Tom found himself flung into yet another alternate universe. Why did it always have to happen to him? Why couldn’t it have happened to Crow this time, or better yet, not happened at all? Evidently the universe didn’t lear from its mistakes. 

He glanced around. He was definitely still on the Satellite of Love. Ok, that was a good thing. And the Mads on the screen were still Kinga and Max. Two for two. Maybe he wasn’t in a different universe. Maybe he had simply blacked out for a moment. He was an old robot, it wouldn’t be surprising. But then he turned to his right. And the test subject definitely wasn’t Jonah. 

“Mike?” Tom exclaimed, moving back. “What the hell?”

Mike frowned. “What? Tom, is something wrong?”

“Did the Mads send up a matter transference device during an ion storm?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Tom sighed. “Because I’m not your Tom. I’m the Tom from another universe. A universe where you got off the Satellite years ago.”

“Wait a second, what did you say?” Kinga said from the screen. “You’re seriously from a different universe?”

“Yep. You people really need to learn from your mistakes.”

Tom’s attention was suddenly caught by Crow, who had quietly retrieved a baseball bat from under the console and was now waving it around like a drunken Russian fending off someone trying to steal their car. 

“You’re not the real Mike!” Crow yelled. Apparently Tom wasn’t the only one who had accidentally switched universes.

Tom flew over to Crow. “Crow, he is technically the real Mike. You switched universes with me this time instead of Gyps.”

Crow began to slowly lower the bat. “Seriously? I thought you had been kidding when you said that happened!” 

“No, I was serious. But those times, it was always a universe where the Forresters were the test subject, and the test subject the Mads. It’s never been like this before.”

Crow seemed confused. “Wait, the Forresters haven’t always been the test subjects?”

“Yeah, I… oh, no. Don’t tell me you’re evil Crow.”

“Evil? I just do whatever Jonah tells me to. We just got back to earth a few months ago. He and Kinga are dating now. You mean you don’t remember that?”

“Jonah and Kinga are dating? Willingly? What kind of a universe are you living in?”

“The right one!”

Before Tom could begin to pummel Crow, Mike stood in between the two of them. He seemed to be getting increasingly concerned. “Hold on, guys. Who’s Jonah?”

“The test subject!” Tom said. 

“The Mad scientist!” Crow said. 

This did not answer Mike’s question. “He can’t be two different people.” 

“Well, he sort of is.” Tom replied. 

Gypsum popped up from behind them. “I think I know what the problem is. Crow and Tom are from two different universes. In Tom’s universe, this Jonah is the test subject like you. In Crow’s universe, Jonah is one of the Mads, like Kinga and Max.”

Mike frowned again. “That’s confusing.”

“Unbelieveably.” Tom said. “Hold on, Mike, how long have you been up here?”

“Oh, I don’t know… twenty years, give or take?”

“Twenty?” Tom and Crow exclaimed simultaneously. 

“Yeah. After Joel left, Dr F flung me up to the SOL. I’ve been up and down to earth a bunch of times at this point.” 

This didn’t make sense. Tom could hardly wrap his head around it. “So wait, do you choose to be up here?”

Mike shrugged. “Sort of. The Mads and I have an agreement where I get holidays and birthdays off. I even get dental.”

“So it’s like a job?”

“Yeah. Basically. But it’s fun most of the time. Except when it’s a movie like Carnival Magic. Ugh, that was bad.”

Tom’s voice grew small. “We watched that one with Jonah. You’re supposed to be on earth. Living your life.” 

“It’s not all bad, Tom. I mean sure, I’m being forced watch bad movies at least once a week, and I don’t get to see my family very often, and I haven’t been able to do some of my favorite things that I could do on earth…”

“My Mike wouldn’t just roll over and take it!” Crow exclaimed. “My Mike was the premier mad scientist after Joel! My Mike didn’t take any crap!”

“Well, I’m not your Mike, Crow, if that’s even your name.”

“Of course it’s my name! Joel gave it to me! Who do you think I am?”

“I don’t know, but I know you’re not Crow!”

“ENOUGH!” Kinga yelled from onscreen, abruptly shutting up the argument. “Clearly this isn’t going to work. We can’t have you three riffing movies if two of you aren’t even from this universe.”

Mike took a deep breath. “Then what do you suggest we do, on high and mighty Kinga?”

“Don’t give me lip, Nelson. We’re going to need you to send the matter transference machine back down. Hopefully that’ll solve the problem.”

Mike nodded. “Alright. How do I do that?”

“Just put it through the umbilicus.”

Tom’s jaw dropped. “You still have the umbilicus? What is this, 1996?” 

“I don’t need your sass, Servo. Besides, what else would we use to get things up and down from the Satellite?”

“Brain Guy? Teleportation? One of Amazon’s drones?”

“Why would we use Brain Guy? He’s still travelling with Grandma Pearl.” 

“I don’t know, he always did it when they were the Mads. This isn’t my universe.” 

Kinga seemed irked. “Just send the machine down.”

Mike did what was necessary, and Tom prepared for the switch back to his universe. But then, nothing happened. 

“Did you do it?” He asked. 

“Yeah, I did. Wait, did it not work?”

“It doesn’t look like it. Hey, if you’ve been up on the Satellite for twenty years, do you know about pop culture and stuff? Like do you even know what an iPhone is?”

“Of course I know what an iPhone is, Tom. I’ve been living in a Satellite, not under a rock. And like I said, I’ve been back down to earth.” Mike paused. “What do you mean, it doesn’t look like it worked?”

“I mean, even though you sent the matter transference machine back down, I’m still Tom Servo from another universe.”

“And I’m not back in my universe yet either.” Crow added. “Don’t tell me I’m going to have to miss tonight’s episode of Cutthroat Kitchen!”

Onscreen, Kinga was frantically sending various Boneheads around while Max scribbled away on a notepad. She looked up and realized that Mike and the Bots were looking to her for any idea as to what was happening. 

“Ok. Alright. So, nobody panic.”

Mike coughed. “Uh, nobody was panicking.”

“Shut up, Nelson. I need to think. Ok, so you sent the matter transference machine back down. The ion storm is still going on, so that’s clearly not the problem. Maybe… maybe it’s a problem on the other end! You there, Servo, you’ve done this before, right?”

“Yeah, but this has never happened. The machine only needs to go up or down on one side to get it to work.” 

“Damn. Alright. Give me some time. I’ll figure it out.” 

She pressed a button, and the screen turned black. Tom sighed. “Why couldn’t I have stayed in the universe where Kinga was nice? And heading to earth?”

“Oh, you mean my universe?” Crow said, an edge to his voice. “Yes, how we would love to have you there permanently.”

Tom couldn’t glare, but if he could, that was what he would be doing at that moment. “Listen here, alt-Crow. I’m just trying to get back home. And you want to know something?”

“Please. Tell me.”

“The Crow I know is a lot nicer.”

“Shut your mouth, before I shut it for you.”

Mike cleared his throat, stepping between them once again. “Ok kids, let’s not.”

“Stay out of this, Nelson.” Crow sneered. 

“I don’t think so. Listen, until we get this whole thing straightened out, I don’t want you two near each other. I want you to go to your rooms.”

“I don’t live here, unlike you two.”

Gypsum sighed. “I’ll take you, if you promise not to talk.”

“Fine. I don’t want to talk to you anyway.”

Tom could tell that Crow desperately wanted to talk, and he would probably break his promise in about 35 seconds. Nonetheless, he was relieved when Crow and Gyps disappeared down the hall. 

“Jeez, what is it with you two?” Mike asked. “You never argue like that regularly. I mean yes, you do argue, but not on the same scale.”

“We’re from two fundamentally different universes. My universe is more like yours, where Crow and I are up on the SOL watching bad movies. His universe, however, is a horrifying switch where he and I work alongside the Mads.” 

“So in his universe, I’m one of the Mads?” 

“Yep. I’ve seen it for myself, and frankly I never want to see it again.”

“I can understand that.” He paused. “Hey, can I ask you kind of a weird question?”

“Fire away.”

“In this universe, you and Crow are… well, you’re married. Is that the same in your universe?”

Tom sighed. “No. The wedding was sort of ended because everyone started wrestling.”

“So Racket Girls really got to you guys, huh.” 

“You could say that.”

They fell into an awkward silence, mainly because Tom didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It was a touchy subject that no one on the Satellite brought up after it happened. Eventually, he cleared his throat. 

“I’m just gonna go.”

“It’s probably for the best.”

Tom floated out of the bridge and down the hall towards what he knew as his room. It wasn’t too different from how it looked in his universe, though it looked almost exactly the way it looked when they had originally crashed the SOL back in 1999. Evidently this universe’s him didn’t think to update the decor. 

Suddenly, he heard a voice. “Hey. Pstt. Servo.” 

Tom looked around, but saw no one in the room. “Who’s there? Show yourself! I,uh, know karate!”

“Tom, your arms don’t work.” The voice said snarkily. “It’s me, Magic Voice.”

“Magic Voice? Seriously? I thought you… nevermind.”

“Yeah. Listen, Tom, there’s something you need to know.”

“Oh boy. More information. I can’t wait.”

“Tom, please. Don’t get smart with me. I know why you can’t get back home.”

“Alright, well, tell me.”

“You won’t like it.”

“Oh for the love of… just tell me.”

“The walls of three different universes basically broke down in order to get you and Crow here. And there was a reason behind that. The universes are trying to get this universe’s Mike down from the Satellite.”

“So the universe chose me and dickweed Crow to do it? No offense, but I think we’re probably the least qualified people anyone could have chosen.”

“Well, I’m not the one picking out who does it.”

“Yeah, who is? More importantly, why do you know all this?”

“I’m a noncorporeal voice, Tom. I’m practically omniscient. And no, the me in your universe isn’t dead, they’re taking a vacation across Europe. They’ll be back in a month or two.”

This was weird. Really weird. And only getting weirder. “But I don’t want to work with this Crow! He’s an asshole.” 

“Too bad. Deal with it.”

“You’re not as nice as I remember you being, Magic Voice.”

“Oh, Tom. We do have fun, don’t we.”

“Have you told Crow about this whole plan of what we’re supposed to do?”

“No, and I’m not going to. He’s kind of a dick.”

“Fantastic.”

“Just do it for Mike. Please?”

Tom sighed. “Alright. Fine. But only because you begged.”

Magic Voice didn’t have eyes, but Tom could tell they would have been rolling them. 

They didn’t reply, so Tom assumed that they had left. It was always hard to tell with a noncorporeal voice. He was glad to see (hear?) that they were doing ok, both in this universe and in his. He didn’t even bother thinking about how on earth they could have been able to communicate between the different universes, because he knew it would confuse him. 

Instead of futzing around in his room, Tom decided to explore the ship. In the meantime, he would try and think about what exactly he would have to do to get Mike back to earth. The SOL was still tethered to earth by the umbilicus. Maybe they could use that. Or maybe they could use the controls on the bridge, if they still worked in this universe. 

As he turned a corner, he collided with someone. After the initial surprise, he realized that it was Crow. 

“I thought you were supposed to be exiled to your room.” Tom said. 

“It’s not my room. It’s the room of alternate universe me. We’re not the same person.”

“Clearly.”

“Hey, I thought you were exiled too?”

“No one bothered to lock the door.” 

Crow seemed skeptical. “Right.”

Tom realized that to be able to work with this Crow, he would have to explain to him what exactly they had to do. He glanced over his shoulder, insuring that no one was around them. His voice broke into a whisper. “I need to talk to you about something.” 

“What if I don’t want to hear about it?”

“Too bad. Listen up. We need to get Mike off this Satellite.” 

“This I do want to hear. Elaborate.”

“Dude’s been on this Satellite for twenty years. I’m trying to come up with an idea for how to get him down. Do you know if the controls on the bridge still work?”

“I have no idea. But I know who we can ask. GYPSUM!” He yelled suddenly. 

G appeared from around the corner. “Hey guys. I wasn’t listening at all.” 

Tom snorted. “Definitely. Listen, do the controls on the ship still work?”

“Last I checked. Hey, can I help you in your big escape plan?” 

“Sure. So, my idea is, we hijack the controls and crash the Satellite of Love down to earth.”

Crow would have raised an eyebrow if he had them. “Crash it? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Fine then, we’ll slowly flutter this giant hunk of metal down to earth like a damn butterfly. Do you have a better idea?”

Crow shut up. 

“The Satellite is still attached to earth and not the moon, right?”

Gypsum nodded. “Yep. Why would it be tethered to the moon?”

“It’s a long story. So, that makes things easier. A shorter distance. How hard do you think it’ll be to hijack the controls?”

“Knowing me? It’ll take around… oh, probably five minutes. Maybe less.”

“Great. Gyps, you’re the best.”

“Thank you. I know.”

“Crow, I need you to find Mike for me. Bring him to the bridge.”

Crow seemed perturbed. “How come you’re in charge? Who gave you the right?”

“Magic Voice.”

“Who’s Magic Voice?”

“Do you really not have Magic Voice in your universe?”

“No, they do.” Magic Voice said, cutting into the conversation. “I, or more specifically, that universe’s me, doesn’t like them very much. Their universe’s Kinga’s nice, though. I like her.”

This was getting even more confusing. “That’s Magic Voice.”

Crow looked around. “Where are they?”

“They’re noncorporeal. And, from what I can tell, omniscient.”

“That’s… Interesting…”

“Just go find Mike.” 

“Fine, fine.”

Crow left, and Tom headed for the bridge. He felt something stirring within him. A certain fear, he decided, stemming from the possibility that what they were doing might not work. He might be trapped in this universe forever, or worse, end up crashing the Satellite into the earth, killing them all. He wasn’t used to feeling emotions like that. Usually he just used his overconfidence as a shield. But even that couldn’t help him now. 

Tom got to the bridge at the same time G finished up hijacking the ship’s controls. 

“Alright, Tom, we’re ready to go.” G said. “We just need Mike to get the ship moving since he actually has arms.” 

“Hey, I have arms.”

“Arms that work.”

“Fine, I’ll give you that one.”

Crow appeared from the hall, dragging Mike by the hand. 

Mike looked confused. “Tom? Crow told me you needed me for something, but didn’t say what. He also threatened to stab me if I didn’t move quickly.”

Tom sighed. “He does that, apparently. Now, listen carefully. We’re breaking you out of this place. But to do that, we need you to pilot the SOL, which basically means aiming it towards the ground and having it move foreword.”

“What? Why?”

“Don’t ask why. Just do it. Or I’ll let Crow stab you.”

“You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“Fly the ship, Nelson.”

Mike approached the steering wheel. “You know, I don’t even know how to do this.”

“Push the damn wheel foreword.” 

“Why are you doing this, Tom? How is this benefitting you?”

“Maybe I’m just being nice.”

“Now that’s definitely a lie.”

Tom sighed. “Alright, fine. Basically, the prevailing theory is, if we get you to earth, Crow and I will be able to go back to our respective universes.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” Mike gripped the steering wheel, taking a deep breath. “You’re sure about this?”

“Mike, when have I ever not been sure?”

“Good point. Well, here goes.”

Tom braced himself as the Satellite of Love lurched forward, heading towards the planet below. The planet below them grew larger and larger, until he could make out individual landforms. 

Suddenly, Tom realized that he was no longer in the Satellite with Mike. Instead, he was standing beside Jonah, and the Satellite wasn’t moving. He backed up a little and looked around. Everything looked like his universe. 

“Tom? Is something wrong?” Jonah asked, noticing Tom’s distress. 

“This is the right universe, right? Everything is normal, you’re the test subject, Kinga and Max are the Mads?”

“Yep. You’re our Tom?”

“Definitely.”

“It’s good to have you back, buddy. Alternate universe you didn’t have the same sense of humor. And he tried to kiss Crow.”

“Which actually wasn’t bad.” Crow added from Jonah’s right. 

Tom sighed. “Yeah, that’s a long story. All jokes aside, I’m glad to be back.”

“What was the other universe like?” Jonah asked. 

“Mike was still the test subject. You had never even been on the Satellite.”

“Woah. That’s weird.”

“It was. More importantly, the Mads need to stop sending us those damn matter transference devices. This is the third time I’ve ended up in a different universe!”

“You’re quite the traveler, Tom.”

“You could say that. Listen, uh, there’s something I need to do.”

He flew off down the hall and into his room. After making sure to lock the door, he took a deep breath. 

“Magic Voice?”

A few seconds passed. Finally, a response. “I was about to see the Mona Lisa.”

“Magic Voice. Can I… can I ask you a question?”

“Well, I didn’t come back for nothing.”

“Why me? Why am I always the one to end up in these different universe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes you do. You’re omniscient and from what I can tell, can communicate across universes.” 

“Alright, alright. Truth be told, I don’t know exactly what the deal is. But I know this. Something’s going on that’s out of any of our hands. You probably shouldn’t worry about it unless the Mads decide to send you guys another matter transference machine.”

“So what you’re saying is, there’s a chance it’ll never happen again, unless the Mads do something stupid.” 

“Yep. Basically.” 

Tom sighed. “Wonderful. So it’s definitely going to happen again.”

“I mean, you don’t know that.” 

“You have way too much faith in Kinga and Max.”

A pause. “You have a point.” 

“How come you haven’t been back? Cambot misses you. Or at least I think they do. They don’t talk.”

“Oh, poor Cambot. I’ll have to see them later. But I’ve been on vacation. Besides, Jonah’s new to all of this. I might scare the guy.”

“Trust me, he can handle it.”

“I will be back. Don’t worry.”

“Well, that’s good.” He thought for a moment. “Hey, since you’re omniscient, you know everything, right?”

“Mostly everything.”

“Whatever. Anyway, can you tell me how Joel and Mike are doing?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s easy. They’re great. We have lunch sometimes.” 

“Do they… you know, do they miss us?”

“Of course they miss you. Joel’s basically your father, and Mike is your weird younger brother. They love you guys.”

“That’s good.” Another thought crossed his mind. “What about alternate universe Kinga? Is she doing ok? She was nice.”

“She’s doing fine. She’s dating evil Jonah, which is kind of weird.”

“Crow mentioned that. As much as I hate to admit it, I can see that. I’m glad to see that she’s fine too.” 

After about thirty seconds, Magic Voice spoke again. “Well, if that’s all you need, I’ll be off.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for the help.”

“Sure thing, Tommy Boy.”

After a second, he knew that they were gone. 

He stood in his room, thinking over his situation. So, this did seem to all be connected. That was good to know. 

But more importantly, he knew that Joel and Mike were ok. He would never admit it to anyone, but he missed them. He missed them so much, it sometimes kept him up at night. They were his family. His weird, disjointed family, in which none of them were related. But a family can be two dads and their four robot children. 

Tom heard a knock on the door, shattering his thoughts. 

“Tom? Are you ok?” Jonah’s voice said from the other side of the door. 

“I’m fine.” He paused. “Just a bit of shock is all.”

“Well, if you ever need anything, I’m here for you.”

After a moment, Tom poked his head out of the bedroom door. “Thanks, Jonah.”

“No problem, buddy. It’s good to have you back.” 

“It’s good to be back.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was kind of uninspired at the end and I’m not too happy with it but I gave it my best effort and that’s what matters right


End file.
